Break the Crisis and Complacency Cycle and Build the Right Workforce, ManpowerGroup Warns Employers

The New Talent Shortage Normal Will Fail to Sustain Companies

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May 29, 2012, 07:30 ET

MILWAUKEE, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, warns employers, who are increasingly at peace with failing to find the right talent to fight the perception that specialized in-demand talent is out of reach and develop flexible workforce models comprised of contingent and permanent workers, in order to meet fluctuating demand for their products and services.

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ManpowerGroup's 2012 Talent Shortage Survey, released today along with the accompanying insights paper, "Break the Crisis and Complacency Cycle, Get Ahead of the Global Talent Shortage," shows the world is for the seventh year in a row gripped by an acute talent mismatch, as over a third (34%) of employers globally identify a lack of available skilled talent to their organizations. Despite this, a substantial proportion of employers indicate unfilled positions are expected to have little or no impact on key constituents, such as customers and investors; this proportion has grown from 36% in 2011 to 56% in 2012.

"This shift in perceived impact is alarming," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO. "Employers today must proactively develop a workforce recruitment and development strategy if remaining competitive and achieving their desired results is the goal. While the talent mismatch crisis is an old problem, accepting it as the new normal is no way to compete in this increasingly volatile economy, a hallmark of the Human Age.

"If employers don't think leaving important positions unfilled is a problem now, they will in the future as unemployment rates fall and skilled talent is harder to come by because they did not prepare for a spike in demand," Joerres added. "Employers must look long-term as they will not be able to quickly align a workforce once the economy improves. They must produce talent now as it won't automatically be there. In the future will need to have Teachable Fit and individuals will have to stay agile and flexible."

"Break the Crisis and Complacency Cycle, Get Ahead of the Global Talent Shortage," details specialized solutions ManpowerGroup has identified for winning today's talent wars, including: developing a workforce strategy, strategic migration, developing flexible work models, hyperspecializing work among specialized workers, exploring untapped talent markets and expanding tapped talent markets.

Overall workforce strategies that companies need today must plot current and future needs of the business, by factoring changing business conditions, emerging technologies, available workforce supply or human resources – and then crafting solutions to fill gaps between business needs and the available workforce.

ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) surveyed nearly 40,000 employers in 41 countries and territories during the first quarter of 2012 to explore the impact of talent shortages on the global labor market and how employers are responding to the challenges raised by the lack of available talent in specific job categories. This is the seventh consecutive year that the survey has been conducted.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,800 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined – because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, and was once again the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. This concept of talentism as the new capitalism continues to resonate and was echoed as a core theme of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj. Joerres is one of only six Fortune 500 CEOs who leverages a Twitter account to get his message out.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup